The present disclosure relates to a belt cleaning device and an image forming apparatus having the same.
Electrophotographic image forming apparatuses have various structures and types, one of which is an intermediate transfer type in which a color image is formed. The image forming apparatus of the intermediate transfer type is configured so that toner images of respective colors are transferred to an intermediate transfer belt (primary transfer), after which the corresponding toner images are transferred to recording paper again (secondary transfer), and the image is fixed to the recording paper by thermocompression. Since toner remains on the intermediate transfer belt after the toner images are transferred to the recording paper, there is a need to remove the remaining toner prior to the next image forming process. For this reason, the image forming apparatus is provided with a belt cleaning device for removing the toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt.
Typical belt cleaning devices electrically adsorb the toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt to a surface of a collection roller, and scrape off the toner with a cleaning blade. In this configuration, paper dust may become stuck in a contact portion between the collection roller and the cleaning blade, causing defects in cleaning on the collection roller and the intermediate transfer belt, and generating vertical black stripes on the image. Further, a technique for resolving a similar problem with a cleaning unit of a photoreceptor may include a technique for thrusting the cleaning blade in a direction of a rotating shaft of the photoreceptor to remove foreign materials such as paper dust.